


The Elf Who Saves A Christmas Dress

by xonceinadream



Category: Glee RPF
Genre: Christmas Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-05
Updated: 2014-12-05
Packaged: 2018-02-28 07:00:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2723081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xonceinadream/pseuds/xonceinadream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darren should've known better than to give his daughter the candy cane as they waited to see Santa. Fortunately a very attractive elf is there to save the day.<br/>Prompt: Either Chris or Darren works as an elf at the mall and the other’s child is so excited to see Santa. Cue the fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Elf Who Saves A Christmas Dress

**Author's Note:**

> This prompt was so adorable and I'm tempted to write it the other way around too with Darren as the elf but this is how it came out the first time. I have this intense backstory for the two of them but it didn't fit so I'll leave it to the imagination. 
> 
> Written for a [prompt](http://daily-crisscolfer-prompts.tumblr.com/post/104200009748/cc-holiday-prompt-2) at [Daily CrissColfer Prompts](http://daily-crisscolfer-prompts.tumblr.com) on tumblr.

Lily is bouncing on her feet, the little bells on the bottom of her dress jingling in time with her movements. Darren watches her, amused and glad that she seems to like the dress so much. Normally for Lily's sake, he and his ex tend to do important holiday things together like getting Santa pictures but this year the two had strongly disagreed on the dress and had simply decided to get two sets of them. Lily had been perfectly okay with that, sure that meant that she could dupe Santa into giving her two sets of presents. His ex had just eyed Darren and rolled her eyes, muttering about how she's so his daughter.

"Santa is so excited to meet you! Be sure to tell him what you want for Christmas."

Darren peeks around the massive line, seeing a few people walking back and forth, keeping order and the kids cheerful as they wait. Lily had already snagged a mini candy cane from one of the female elves who'd been walking past and was currently trying to convince Darren to let her eat it before they get up to Santa.

The line is long, winding its way around decorated plastic barriers and Darren can't hear the sound of Santa or the boy on his lap over the sound of children chattering in line. Darren sighs, looking down at Lily and handing over the plastic wrapped piece of candy. "Alright but remember that we're going out for lunch before I drop you back off at your mom's for the night."

"Okay," Lily says and her bouncing has calmed down for the most part as she unwraps the candy cane and sticks it in her mouth to begin sucking on it. Lily is used to her back and forth, both Darren and his ex having worked to maintain a life that is normal for her. She goes to the same school that she always has, she has the same friends and spends just as much time with them, she just goes back and forth between their houses every few days depending on their schedules.

Darren brings up his wrist to glance at his watch, pulling out his phone to shoot his ex a quick text giving them about six hours before she should expect them. Judging by the line, he's not positive that they're going to actually be there in that amount of time.

"Are you looking forward to meeting Santa?"

Realizing that he's lost in his thoughts, Darren looks down, his breath catching as he sees the rather adorable elf who's kneeling down next to his daughter and looking at her. There's a smile on his face that actually looks like he really wants to be here. Darren loves Christmas cheer just as much as the next person but having to deal with screaming kids all day for hours at a time is not his thing. Perhaps that's because he dealt with screaming kids so much already.

Lily grins at him, twirling the candy cane on her finger before licking it again. Her lips are a rosy red from the candy and Darren is just glad that he has an emergency kit in his back pocket that has some wet wipes in them. Lily had started objecting to the fact that he still carried around a diaper bag for her a few years ago and so he'd had to downsize.

"Mm-hmm! I'm going to meet Santa and ask for things and then Mommy is going to take me to Santa and I'm going to ask for things again and get two presents!"

Darren has to bite his lip to keep from laughing as the elf looks up at him, amusement twinkling in his eyes. Their eyes catch and then hold, the elf's smile fading for a moment before returning times ten. God, the boy is gorgeous. He looks just a few years younger than Darren, not quite as many lines on his face, no grey hair but Darren thinks that both of those things are only evident on him because he has Lily. 

The elf immediately moves his head back towards Lily, though, obviously intent on his job. "Well that's not very nice, is it? You have to leave some toys for the other children. What if he brings two toys to you and doesn't have one for somebody else?"

That seems to make Lily stop and think, her candy cane falling out of her mouth and Darren curses much too loudly considering how many children are around as it catches on her dress, sticking against the shimmery white fabric. The two men immediately jump into action and the elf, Darren really should get his name, grabs the candy cane first, wincing when he sees the redness on the dress. 

"I'm so sorry," he says quickly, looking up at Darren with apologetic eyes as Lily looks down at her dress, her lower lip starting to wobble. "I didn't think that she'd do that."

Darren sighs, looking at the dress and then shaking his head, figuring that a wet wipe might not be good enough to actually take care of the large mark on the fabric. "It's alright. Who would've known it would happen? I suppose her mom was right and white wasn't the way to go."

The elf clears his throat, glancing up at the front of the line and then back at Darren. "We actually have some stain remover stuff in the back. Since it was my fault I'd be happy to take you back there and see if we can't get this little one fully prepared to meet Santa."

Lily nods, looking up at Darren. "Daddy, please! Wanna fix my dress," she says, halfway between smiling at the thought of getting her dress fixed and frowning because she really doesn't want her dress to be stained.

"Yeah, of course. That would be great," Darren says, letting Lily walk under the barrier first as the elf holds it up. "As long as we don't have to wait in line again."

The elf laughs, letting the barrier drop so that Darren can step over and he holds out his hand. "I'm Chris, by the way. Chris the happy elf." The last sentence is directed at Lily, a subtle wink shot in Darren's direction and the man tries not to smile, recognizing the sarcasm dripping in the perfectly happy tone of voice. Chris. Not so bad. A touch boring but at least he's cute.

"Darren. And this is Lily," Darren says, playing with one of Lily's curls as Lily smiles sweetly up at them.

Chris leads the two through some elves, stopping to chat with one of them who looks at Darren and then smirks at Chris. Darren swears that he can see a pink tinge on the elf's cheeks as they go behind a curtain. 

"What're you doing, Colfer?"

Chris rolls his eyes, gesturing towards Lily as a woman comes towards them. "Told a little girl that she's s-e-l-f-i-s-h and her candy cane dropped out of her mouth so I'm going to see if I can get the stain out."

"Hey! I prefer enterprising and a genius, thank you," Darren says, half joking and only a bit offended on behalf of his daughter. Okay, so maybe he and his ex have spoiled her a bit. She is an only child and they do both come from money so it just happens.

Chris laughs, looking over at Darren and he shakes his head. "A typical parent," he says in a teasing tone as he gestures towards a chair and Darren lifts up his daughter into it, watching as Chris digs through a bag. They stay silent, all of them holding their breath as Chris works carefully, effortlessly. He keeps up a steady stream of conversation with Lily, asking her what she wants for Christmas and about what she's learning in school. It makes Darren proud to listen to her talk about how much she loves to learn.

After a few minutes, Chris stands up, gesturing towards the dress. Darren moves, his eyes widening as where there was previously a sticky strip of red there's now just the white fabric. Of course, the glitter is gone but Darren thinks that's perfectly fine considering that he already has plenty of glitter on the seats of his car.

"You did it! Thank you Chris the happy elf!" Lily says enthusiastically, hopping up and wrapping her arms around Chris' legs in a tight hug.

Chris laughs, bending down so that he can give Lily a real hug back, whispering something in her ear that makes her beam and she nods quickly. Chris stands up, looking over at Darren and his smile is just as wide but different somehow.

"Thanks. I really appreciate it," Darren says with his own smile, holding out his hand and he feels Chris reach up to shake it, their hands staying in each other's for a moment too long before they're pulling away when Lily is tugging at Darren's shirt.

"Daddy, I want to meet Santa, please," she says in her most polite voice, standing up on her toes to try to get up as high as she can. 

Darren clears his throat, looking down at Lily and nodding. "Of course, honey. Um… Chris. Forgive me if I'm being presumptuous but would you-"

"Yes," Chris says immediately, digging into his red and white striped pants and pulling out a phone. He unlocks it and then holds it out to Darren. "Here. Put your number in. I'm off at six." Darren looks up at Chris, raising his eyebrows, somewhat surprised. Chris wiggles the phone, smiling in a playful way that makes something akin to butterflies erupt in Darren's stomach. "I have to get back to work. Put your number in. Unless I'm wrong?"

Immediately Darren grabs the phone, putting his number in quickly and shaking his head. "Nope. You're absolutely not wrong. Text me when you're off. Lily's going to her mom for a few nights so maybe tomorrow?"

Chris nods, smiles and shoves his phone back into his tights once he has it back. "Great. I can take a night off writing for a date with a gorgeous guy. I'll text you later. Come on. I'll get you to the front of the line."

"Really? You're my favorite elf!" Lily says happily as she slips her hand into Chris'. Surprised, Chris looks down at Lily but he doesn't pull his hand away from hers. "Can you put in a good word to Santa for me?"

Chris laughs softly and Darren follows behind them, simply watching their interactions with a smile. "I'll be sure to do that."

Lily stays silent as he leads them towards the line and he lifts up the barrier to let them in a few people from the front. Lily immediately gets back into line, twirling so that her dress flares around her and Darren reaches out to grab Chris' wrist gently before he can walk away.

"Be sure that you text me?" It's a quiet question so that other people around them can't hear, not wanting to get Chris into trouble.

Chris smiles softly, nodding his head. "Of course. It was nice to meet you, Darren. I promise I'll dress better when we go out on a date. I don't typically walk around looking like a giant candy cane. Nice to meet you too, Lily."

That makes Darren smirk as he looks at Chris, biting his lip and he nods back at Chris, resisting the urge to do something stupid like lean in to kiss at least his cheek or something. "It was nice to meet you, Chris."

Darren watches as the elf wanders off, dancing a bit to make the bells on his shirt jingle as he bends down to talk to another kid in the line. Darren doesn't stop watching until Lily nudges him to let him know that the line is moving and he clears his throat, stepping forward to focus on his daughter meeting Santa. He pulls out his phone, texting his ex to make sure that she's still planning on keeping Lily for tomorrow night as well. After all he has a date.


End file.
